Tufting machine with pattern control



Sept. 9, 1958 A. H. CRAWFORD TUFTING MACHINE WITH PATTERN CONTROL FiledMarch 19, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY;

Sept. 9, 1958 A. H. CRAWFORD 2,350,994

TUFTING MACHINE WITH PATTERN CONTROL 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 19,1954 NTOR ept- 9, 1958 A. H. CRAWFORD I 2,850,994

TUFTING MACHINE WITH PATTERN CONTROL 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 19,1954 4% INVENTOR 12w: 5 4411152541 ATTORNEY;

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.TUFTING MACHINE WITH PATTERN CONTROL Filed March 19, 1954 6Sheets-Sheet 4 r nn I Fl

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c M MA r ATTORNEYS United States Patent TUFTING MACHINE WITH PATTERNCONTROL Allan H. Crawford, Amsterdam, N. Y., assignor, by themeassignments, to Mohasco Industries, Amsterdam, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application March 19, 1954, Serial No. 417,366

7 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) Thisinvention relates to the production of pilefabrics by the passage of loops of yarn through a foundation or backingmaterial by means of needles in a tufting machine. More particularly,the invention is concerned with a novel tufting machine of the multipleneedle type provided with means, by which the height of each of the pileloops in the fabric being produced may be varied in accordance with aselected pattern.

Multiple needle tufting machines have been used for many years in theproduction of pile fabricsused, for example, as bath mats, and, morerecently, such machines have been used in the manufacture of floorcovering fabrics suitable for use as carpets and rugs. Pile carpetingmade on tufting machines has heretofore been at a commercialdisadvantage with respect to conventional woven pile carpets, becausethe height of the pile elements produced in the tufting operation wasthe same throughout the fabric, so that the fabric had a somewhatmonotonous appearance, whereas, in woven pile fabrics, a great varietyof surface effects is obtainable by the use of pile elements ofdifferent heights arranged in accordance with a design. Some attemptshave been made vto modify tufting machines to enable them to insert pileelements of different heights, but no tufting machine aifording a widechoice of pile heights or the control of the height of the individualpile elements throughout the fabric has heretofore been developed, sofar as I am aware.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a tufting machineof the multiple needle type, in which the height of the individual pileelements in the fabric produced can be'controlled in accordance with aselected design, so that an unlimited variety of surface effects may beobtained in the finished material. A typical machine constructed inaccordance with theinvention includes a plurality of needles forinserting loops of pile yarn through a backing material and a looperassociated with each needle and operating to engage each loop insertedby the needle and hold the loop, as the needle is retracted. The loopersare mounted for movement generally parallel to the path of travel oftheir respective needles and, after a looper enters an inserted loop, itis moved in a direction such that it tends to lengthen the loop. Thelength of such movement of the loopers, and thus the length of therespective loops held thereby, is determined by a pattern mechanism,which includes elements engaged by the loopers and brought successivelyinto position to control their action during the formation of each rowof pile loops across the backing. The pattern elements may be a seriesof wires which vary in profile in accordance with the pattern and can beinterchanged, as desired.

For a better understanding of the. invention, reference may be had tothe accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a fra mentary sideelevational view, with parts broken away, of the essential parts of atufting machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2--2 of Fig. l with partsomitted;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a partial top plan view with parts broken away of the loopersand related parts;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of parts of the deviceshown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a view in section on line 9-9 of Fig. 10;

Figs. 10-14, incl., are fragmentary vertical sectional views showingsuccessive stages in the operation of the needles and loopers under thecontrol of the pattern mechanism; and

Fig. is an elevational view on the line 15-15 of Fig. 10 with partsbroken away.

The tufting machine illustrated in the drawings is to a large extent ofconventional construction and it has a frame made up of sides 10connected by girts, two of which are indicated at 11, 12. The backingfabric or sheet F to be tufted is supplied in the usual way from a rollmounted on a shaft cradled in hearings on the frame sides, and thefabric passes over a back spike roll of ordinary construction and iskept under tension by the usual brake controlling the rotation of thespike roll. A backing sheet support such as a reed 14, having a surfacealong which the backing sheet is advanced and supported, is made of aplurality of closely spaced metal strips and is mounted to span thespace between girts 11, 12 and the fabric passes, in a directionlongitudinally of the machine, from the back spike roll in contact withthe tops of the girts and the reed to an idler roll 15 supported inbrackets on the sides 10. From the roll 15, the fabric passes around afront spike roll 16 journaled in hearings on the sides and having a gear17 engaged by a pinion 13 On a stud 19 attached to one of the sides 10.Pinion 18 is secured to a ratchet wheel 20 operated by a spring-pressedpawl 21 on an arm 22 pivoted on stud 19, and the ratchet wheel isprevented from rearward movement by a spring-pressed pawl 23 mounted onsidell). Arm 22 is oscillated by the cam shaft of the machine, so

that the fabric is advanced with a stepwise motion, as will frame sidesand then goes to'a conventional take-up unit not shown.

During each period of rest in the advance of the fabric, loops of pileyarn Y are passed through the fabric by needles25 extending in a rowtransversely of the machine and having their shanks secured to a plate26, which is attached to the under surface of a frame member 27. Member27 extends across the machine and is attaehed at its ends to brackets 28on slide boxes 29 mounted for reciprocation on vertical guides 30mounted on top of sides 10. Member 27 carries a bar 31 for guiding theyarns Y from the yarn packages to respective needles and the needleplate 26 is provided with guide eyes for the yarns. The slide boxes 29are provided with outwardly projecting studs 32, to which are connectedthe upper ends of connecting rods 33 including turn-buckles 34 foradjustment in their length. The lower ends .of rods 33 are connected toeccentric pins 35 onthe outer faces of discs 36 fast on a cam shaft 37mounted in bearings in the sides 10 and driven in any suitable way, asby a reduction gear motor (not shown) driving V-belts 38 trained aboutpulleys 390m the shaft.

The lever 22 for operating the front spike roll is connected byconnecting rod 40'to one arm 41a. of a :bell crank lever 41 mounted onthe side 10, and the other arm 41b of lever 41 carries a roller 42 whichengages the peripheral cam surface 36a on the disc 36. The connectingrod includes a turn buckle 40a for adjusting the length of the rod, anda spring 43 connected to arm 41a of lever 41 and to the frame maintainsthe roller in contact with the arm. On each rotation of the cam shaft37, the needle plate assembly is moved up and down by the rods 33 andthe cam 36 causes lever 22 to advance ratchet wheel and the spike roll16 to shift the fabric F one step each time the needle plate is movedupwardly.

When the needle plate assembly is moved downwardly, the needles piercethe fabric and insert loops of pile yarn therethrough. The loops areheld in place after their insertion and thus prevented from being pulledout of the fabric, when the needles are retracted, by means of loopers44 extending in a row transversely of the machine and cooperating withrespective needles. The loopers have shanks mounted for endwise movementin openings in the horizontal flanges 45a, 45b of a carrier frame orlooper support 45. The frame extends across the machine and its ends aresecured to ends of levers 46 pivotally mounted on a shaft 47 journaledin bearings 48 on brackets 49 secured to the sides 10 for verticaladjustment by slot and bolt connections. levers carry cam rollers 46'which engage rotary cams 50 on the cam shaft 37, and, on each rotationof the shaft, the frame 45 is swung, so that each looper enters the loopof yarn inserted through the fabric,by its associated needle.

The height of each loop of pile yarn is determined by the verticaldisplacement of each looper in accordance with a selected pattern, priorto the retraction of the needles. The looper control mechanism includesa series of horizontal pattern elements 51 having varying contours asshown in Fig. 2, which take the form of bars 51a secured at theiropposite ends by lugs 52 to a pair of endless roller chains 53 andcarrying profiled flat wires 51b. The chains are trained about a pair offront sprocket wheels 54 on shaft 47 and a pair of rear sprocket wheels(not shown) on a shaft 55 supported in bearings 56 (Fig. 3) secured tothe brackets 49. Bearings 56 are attached to brackets 49 by bolts 57extending through horizontal slots 58, so that the spacing between thefront and rear sprocket wheels can be varied to handle chains ofdifferent lengths, as may be required to carry different numbers ofpattern elements for pattern repeats of different length.

On each insertion of the needles, the chains are advanced stepwise so asto place one of the pattern wires beneath the row of loopers, and thismovement of the chains is effected by pawls 59, which engage ratchetWheels 60 fast on shaft 47. Each pawl is pivotally mounted on one arm ofa bell crank lever 61 loosely supported on the shaft 47 and the otherarm of the lever carries a cam roller 62 engaging the rotary cam 63 oncam shaft 37. Over-travel of the sprocket wheel is prevented byspring-loaded stop pawls 64, which are pivoted on a bracket attached toside 10 and engage respective ratchet wheels 65. The ratchet wheels 65are mounted I on shaft 47 and connected to respective ratchet wheels 60,the connected wheels having teeth pointing in opposite directions. Eachstop pawl 64 has a pin 66 lying within a slot 67 formed in one end of alink 68 pivoted at its other end on a lever 61. When levers 61 are intheir retracted positions relative to ratchet wheels 60, links 68 holdthe stop pawls 64 out of engagement with their ratchet wheels 65. Whenlevers 61 are swung to advance ratchet wheels 60, the links are movedwith the levers and permit the stop pawls to engage ratchet wheels 65,when the levers are at the end of their forward stroke. Such engagementof pawls 64 with ratchet wheels 65 holds shaft 47 against movement.

The shank of each looper projecting below flange 45b of the carrierframe 45 is bent back upon itself to form an abutment at 44a forengagement with the pattern wires and the end of the shank is turnedoutwardly above the abutment to provide a tail 44b. The loopers arearranged in frame 45 in two transverse rows and the tails of the loopersin the two rows extend outwardly in op- The other ends of the positedirections. The hooks 44c of the loopers in the two rows are ofdifferent length, so that the hooks may terminate in a line, and, informing the loopers, the shanks are inserted through the alignedopenings in the flanges of frame 45 and the hooks are then secured tothe shanks by soldering. The shanks extend downwardly below frame 45into a space between a pair of lifting plates 69 mounted on respectiveangle irons 70. The plates have slots 69a extending downwardly fromtheir tops for receiving the tails 44b of the individual loopers and theshank of each looper between flanges 45a, 45b on frame 45 is encircledby a spring 71, which bears against the undersurface of flange 45a andagainst a disc 72 fast on the shank above flange 45b. The springs urgethe loopers downwardly, so that their tails 45b tend to engage thebottom of the slots in the plates 69. The angle irons are secured attheir ends to slides 73 mounted on the upper arms of levers 46 and eachslide has an outwardly projecting stud 74 carrying a roller 75, whichrides upon a cam surface 76 on a lever 77 pivotally mounted on shaft 47.Lever 77 has a cam follower roller 78 running on a rotary cam 79 on camshaft 37.

The operation of the machine may be understood by reference to Figs.10-14, inclusive, which show a cycle of operations. In Fig. 10, theneedle assembly, consisting of the needles 25, plate 26, and member 27,is shown as having been raised and such movement has been effected bythe raising of slide boxes 29 on guides 30 by connecting rods 33 andeccentric pins 35 on discs 36 on cam shaft 37. The levers 46 have beenswung to move their upper ends toward the back of the machine, that is,toward the end from which the fabric is beingfed, and such movement ofthe levers has moved the looper carrier frame 45 to withdraw the loopersfrom the loops L of pile yarn in the last row inserted by the needles.At this stage,,levers 77 have been swung to raise the slotted looperlifting plates 69, so that the tails of the loopers are in engagementwith the bottoms of the slots in the plates and the abutrnents on theloopers are out of contact with the pattern units 51. While the partsare in the positions described, the lever 41 is swung by its cam 36 toadvance ratchet wheel 20 one step and advance the front spike roll 16 acorresponding amount. This brings an untufted portion of the fabricbeneath the needles.

In the next step in the cycle, shown in Fig. 11, the needle assembly islowered, so'that the needles penetrate the fabric and carry the yarns Ywith them to form the next row of loops. During such downward movementof the needles, the looper carrier frame 45 begins to swing to move theloopers toward the path of travel of the needles and, at the same time,the ratchet wheels 60 are advanced one step to advance shaft 47 and thefront sprocket wheels 54 and chains 53 by one step. This removes apattern unit from beneath the abutments 44a on the shanks of the loopersand brings the next unit on the chains into effective position beneaththe abutments.

The swinging of the looper carrier frame proceeds until, as shown inFig. 12, the hooks on the loopers enter the loops L of pile yarn carriedthrough the fabric by respective needles. As soon as the hooks haveentered the loops, the frame 45 comes to rest and the looperlifting'plates and their supporting members 70 then move down toward thepattern elements. During such movement of the lifting plates, theloopers are moved with them by springs 71 to keep the tails 44b of theloopers against the bottom of the slots in the plates. The downwardmovement of the lifting plates continues until the abutments 44a on theloopers engage the pattern wire 51a in effective position and the tails44b of certain loopers are out of contact with the bottom of the slots69a in the lifter plates 69. At this stage, as shown in Fig. 13,

the position of the individual loopers is determined entirely by theheight of the portions of the pattern wire 5111, with which the looperabutments are in contact.

During such movement of the looper carrier frame 45 and the liftingplates 69, the needles have reached the bottom of their downward traveland begun to move up- Wardly. In such movement, the needles tend tocarry with them the loops L of yarn last inserted, but these loops havebeen entered by respective loopers and are thereby prevented from beingpulled out of the fabric. Each loop so retained by its looper extendsdownwardly from the fabric a distance determined by the height of theportion of the pattern wire, on which the looper rests and, in thefinished fabric, the loops in each transverse row have heights above thebacking fabric determined by the shape of the pattern Wire in effectiveposition during the formation of the row of loops. When the needles havereached their upper position, the looper carrier frame 45 is swung backto free the loopers from the loops of yarn and the looper lifting plates69 are moved upward to raise the loopers out of contact with the patternwire and to place the loopers in the position shown in Fig. 10. Thecycle of operations of the machine is then complete.

It will be apparent that, in the machine, it is possible to produce afabric, in which the height of each loop in the pile can be determinedin advance and may vary within a considerable range. By verticaladjustment of the brackets supporting the bearings for the sprocketwheel shafts, the vertical position of the pattern-chains and theelements thereon can be varied, so that an overall variation in theheight of the pile loops in the fabric can be effected. The number ofrows in a repeat of the pattern determines the number of patternelements on the chains and the bearings 56 for the rear sprocket wheelshaft may be adjusted along brackets 49, so that chains of differentlength may be employed.

I claim:

1. In a tufting machine, the combination of a support having a surfacealong which a backing sheet is advanced and supported, means forstepwise advancing the backing sheet along said surface of the backingsheet support, a needle reciprocable to insert loops of pile yarnthrough the sheet, means for reciprocating the needle, a loopercooperating with the needle to hold loops inserted through the sheet bythe needle, a movable looper support on which the looper is mounted formovement both with and relative to said looper support, means for movingthe looper support to cause the looper to enter each loop insertedthrough the backing sheet by the needle, means urging the looper awayfrom said surface of the backing sheet support, a stop movable with thelooper support for arresting movement of the looper away from saidsurface of the backing sheet support, means for moving the stop out ofthe way of the looper after the looper has entered each loop, andpattern mechanism including a plurality of design elements of differentheights for limiting said movement of the looper away from said surfaceof the backing sheet support and thereby controlling the maximumdistances which the looper moves from said surface of the backing sheetsupport as the tufting operation proceeds, said pattern mechanismincluding means for successively moving said design elements intoposition to be engaged by the looper as the looper is moved away fromsaid surface of the backing sheet support, whereby loops of differentlengths may be formed.

2. In a tufting machine, the combination of a support having a surfacealong which a backing sheet is advanced and supported, a plurality ofneedles extending in a row transversely of the machine and reciproca'oleto insert loops of pile yarn through the sheet, means for reciprocatingthe needles to insert loops of pile yarn through the sheet, a pluralityof loopers extending in a row transversely of the machine andcooperating with respective needles to hold loops inserted by theneedles through the sheet, a movable looper support on which saidloopers are mounted for movement together with and independentlyrelative to said looper support, means for moving the looper support tocause the loopers to enter the loops inserted by their respectivecooperating needles, means for moving said loopers away from saidsurface of the backing sheet support, and a pattern element extendingtransversely of the machine and having areas of different heights alongits length in a position to be engaged by the loopers and limit theirmovement away from said surface of the backing sheet support, wherebythe loopers are moved different maximum distances from said surface ofthe backing sheet support, and loops of different lengths may be formed.

3. In a tufting machine, the combination of a support having a surfacealong which a backing sheet is advanced and supported, a needle plate, aplurality of needles mounted on the plate, means for reciprocating theplate to cause the needles to insert loops of pile yarn through thebacking sheet, a rocking mounting on the side of said support oppositefrom said needle plate, a looper support carried by the rockingmounting, a plurality of loopers mounted to move together with andindependently relative to said looper support, means for rocking saidmounting to cause the loopers to enter the loops inserted through thebacking sheet by their respective cooperating needles, means urging theindividual loopers to move independently relative to the looper supportin a direction away from the backing sheet support, a stop bar movablycarried by the rocking mounting and arresting movement of the loopersaway from said backing sheet, means for moving the stop bar out of theway of the loopers after the loopers have entered their loops, andpattern mechanism for limiting the movements of individual loopersrelative to the looper support, said pattern mechanism including aplurality of design elements of different heights movable into positionto be engaged by the loopers to limit their movement away from saidsurface of the backing sheet support, and means for advancing the designelements successively into a posi tion to be engaged by the loopers,whereby the loopers may be moved different maximum distances from saidsurface of the backing sheet support and loops of different lengths maybe formed.

4. In a tufting machine, the combination of a support having a surfacealong which a backing sheet is longitudinally advanced and supported, aplurality of needles extending in a row transversely of the machine andreciprocable to insert loops of pile yarn through the sheet, means forreciprocating the needles to insert loops of pile yarn through thesheet, a movable looper support, a plurality of loopers extending in arow transversely of the machine and mounted to move together with andindependently relative to said movable looper support, means for movingthe looper support to cause the loopers to enter the loops insertedthrough the backing sheet by their respective cooperating needles, meansfor moving the loopers independently relative to said looper support ina direction away from said backing sheet support, a series of patternelements, each extending transversely of the machine and successivelymovable into position to be engaged by the loopers and limit theirmovement away from said surface of the backing sheet support, thepattern elements having areas of different heights along theirindividual lengths and positioned longitudinally of the machine so thatthe portions of successive pattern elements engaged by an individuallooper have different heights to (1) limit the maximum distances whichthe loopers move from said surface of the backing sheet support when theloopers engage a single pattern element, and (2) limit the maximumdistances which an individual looper moves from said surface of thebacking sheet support when engaged by portions of successive patternelements as the tufting operation proceeds, whereby loops of differentlengths, both transversely and longitudinally of the machine, may beformed.

5. In a tufting machine, the combination of a support having a surfacealong which a backing sheet is advanced and supported, a plurality ofneedles substantially aligned I l transversely of the machine andreciprocable to insert loops of pile yarn through the backing sheet,means for reciprocating the needles, a looper cooperating with eachneedle to hold the loops inserted through the backing sheet by theneedles, means for moving each looper to enter each loop formed by itscooperating needle,

means for moving each looper away from said surface of the backing sheetsupport, and pattern mechanism advanced in synchronism with the backingsheet, said pattern mechanism including an endless support and patternelementsof different heights carried by said endless support andextending in a row transversely of the machine, means for moving saidendless support to bring said, pattern elements into position to coactwith the loopers, said pattern elements having portions limiting themaximum distances which the loopers move from said surface of thebacking sheet support as the tufting operation proceeds, whereby loopsof different lengths may be formed.

6. In a tufting machine as described in claim 5, the further improvementin which the pattern elements comprise wires projecting outwardly fromthe endless support and having areas of different heights along theirlength.

7. In a tufting machine as defined in claim 6, the further improvementin which the endless support for the pattern mechanism is a pair ofspaced chains and the pattern wires are carried by said chains.

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS486,253 Hofbauer Nov. 15, 1892 1,772,993 Grutter Aug. 12, 1930 1,909,531Gladish May 16, 1933 1,970,703 Loos Aug. 21, 1934 1,984,330 Boyce Dec.11, 1934 2,411,268 Hamrich Nov. 19, 1946

